Published: May 21, 2026 at 6:47 pm
On a day of see-sawing fortunes, talented Aida Thimmaiah of Karnataka capitalized on Yogya Bhalla’s largesse to annex a fine treble (overall, Category ‘A’ & ‘B’) in the IGU Maharashtra Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Willingdon Club in Mumbai on Thursday.
Aida shot a three-over 68 on the final day for a two-shot victory over Yogya Bhalla (69), who looked in control until the meltdown on the 17th hole. The 12-year-old from Coorg finished with a three-day total of three-over 198 to reign over a quality field for her maiden overall title, becoming one of the youngest to achieve the feat.
Starting the day with a one-stroke cushion, Aida doubled the lead with a birdie on the fifth. A three-putt double bogey on the seventh helped Yogya, who played solidly for the better part of the round, to draw level for the first time.
Thereafter, it was Aida who was playing catch-up. She had to force her way back after dropping a shot each time. Yogya, who went up by a stroke following Aida’s bogey on the 14th, birdied the 16th to go up by two shots.
Two up with two holes to go, all Yogya needed to do was to play conservatively. But the 16-year-old from Delhi, who was in the middle of the fairway with a monster drive, went for broke and paid the penalty. She went out of bounds twice, walking away with a quadruple bogey and facing a two-stroke deficit on the final hole.
The four-shot swing on the penultimate hole gave Aida a two-shot victory. “It feels nice to win my first overall title,” said Aida. “It was a tough battle right till the end.”
Nandini Rathee
Nandini Rathee (70) of Haryana took the Category ‘C’ (11-12 years) title with a three-shot victory over Gairat Kaur Kahlon (72). Nandini finished on 25-over 220.
Final scores (after 54 holes): Ladies & overall: 198: Aida Thimmaiah (Kar, 64, 66, 68); 200: Yogya Bhalla (Del, 65, 66, 69); 201: Guntas Kaur Sandhu (Chd, 71, 66, 64), Ayesha Gupta (Del, 66, 69, 66); 203: Janneya A Dasanniee (Guj, 69, 65, 69).
Category ‘A’ (15-17 years): 198: Aida Thimmaiah; 200: Yogya Bhalla; 201: Guntas Kaur Sandhu, Ayesha Gupta; 204: Rashi Mishra (Bih, 71, 68, 65); 206: Dia Cris Kumar (Kar, 70, 69, 67), Rabab Kahlon (Pun, 68, 69, 69).
Category ‘B’ (13-14): 198: Aida Thimmaiah; 206: Rabab Kahlon; 209: Rehnoor Malik (Del, 71, 68, 70); 210: Ojaswini Saraswat (Raj, 72, 72, 66); 212: Anushka Gupta (Kar, 73, 69, 70).
Category ‘C’ (11-12): 220: Nandini Rathee (Har, 72, 78, 70); 223: Gairat Kaur Kahlon (Pun, 77, 74, 72), Vidushi Singh (UP, 76, 70, 77); 224: Aashna Amogha (Kar, 71, 78, 75).
